THE EMPIRES TWILIGHT

[Zeke]

This is a superb story being told...great stuff...

[thedarkmaster]

The New Commonwealth puts a large amount of faith in it's Nuclear arms and as such most if not all strike and nuclear equipped air defence aircraft are white.

The Commonwealth puts various cammo schemes upon it's tactical transports and ground attack aircraft.

In this timeline the " low viz " roundels never happened, the Commonwealth wants people to see who it is and where they are, if you think 1950's then your about right, as one Air Marshall put it " we want our young men and women to die for the country, then lets make everyone know its us ".

[sideshowbob9]

lets make everyone know its us

^ I like it! I'm all for increased use of anti-flash white! 

[thedarkmaster]

[

u]THE LONG DARK TWIGHLIGHT OF THE SOUL[/u]

Chang Yung-fa had been in the fields that day, just as he had been in the fields of Sing lung for his entire working life. He had looked up as the deafening unearthly sound broke over him, and almost imediatly dived to the soft dark soil as the strange white aircraft swooped dowm upon him trailing fire.

When he looked up the noise was finished and he could see a large ugly black scar in the ground that stretched before him until it disapeared into a boiling cloud of black smoke shot through with flame. Yung stood their mouth agape at the site, something he had never expected to see something he could not understand. He turned and he ran.......and ran until he could no longer see or hear anything of the awful site he had just witnessed.

He sat on the high hill above the village and looked in the direction of Nanching over 150 km away, as he sat and waited, he was good at waiting, or so the other villages said, he thought he saw a flash far off to the east,......no, nothing was there..........again..... this time not so far off but still far away.....too far for him to walk so no business of his.



whilst he looked to the east a light like the sun appeared over Nanching, too bright to look at and lasting seconds before it went away, leaving a mark on his eyes that would not go away no matter where he looked. Yung was fasinated by the changing cloud before him.......how it moved in the wind how it seemed alive in the sky.......how beautiful it really was



As night came he walked sheepishly back to the village, he was ready for the scorn that they would pour upon him. He had walked away from the terrifiying site whiist others had gone towards the danger.........he was a coward and they knew it.............but noone cared no-one seemed to notice. All he could hear where snippets of conversations...........It was a white painted foreign aircraft............there was a war going on..........yes yes it had blue white and red circles on the wings.............the doctor had seen the crew, both dead........the party was going to talk to the people that night.........the doctor had seen the crew 1 had survived........ it was a Russian aircraft, no it was British, no no no it was American........every one had an opinion and they where all differant.

He moved slowly through the village until he came to the bar on heavenly peace street and went inside, he sat and waited for the news to come on tv but nothng happened........it was dead. The owner put on the Radio, as me moved the dial back and forth Yung heard foreign voices talking but nothing he could understand........then a thin reedy voice.......a voice he could understand, it was talking of throwing back the foreign attacks and dire warnings of vengance to " THE TRAITORS TO THE SOUTH ", it spoke of cities destroyed to the east and of British aircraft coming from the sea, it told of how great China was and how it coold never be beaten. The mood in the bar was already sombre and now it became icey. Quickly Yung left before he caught the eye of the local police. He went home to his small two roomed house,.................. it was cold and the electricity was off again ............................................ he had no candels.

[thedarkmaster]

 

Alone in the Dark

Alan stood at the window, it was getting dark now, he could see people hurrying home, home to be safe, home to be with their families, for it was getting dark and they came in the dark.

He could see the red glow on the horizon and he had seen the signs in the sky earlier he knew it wasn't over yet, he new they would come again, he knew that they would strike at ramdom where they wished.

He turned his back on the window and walked into the kitchen -diner of his small flat, the tv was playing, it was always on these days, and the news was about to begin. Alan sat and picked up his earlier forgoten sandwhich and took a bite, he neither tasted or notice what he ate as he concentrated on the news.

Oh god the news was bad..........The Americans had to take the public's mind off domestic issues and so they had forced an armed incursion of Canada, and here in Ottawa they had sufferd since..........the news was clear it was the damm Americans whom had opened the Nuclear bottle,........hell a battle group had crossed the border and was ripped apart by a combined Canadian and British force.......Yeah thats the way........and to cover their cowardly retreat they used a nuke..........The Brits responded and it went from there.

More news and it was still bad, London, Paris, Moscow, Rome, washington, New York, Boston, and more, not as many as he feard and not so large but still millions had died..............stories of batles at sea of fleets destroyed of ships and aircraft gone. Fianally came word of help on it's way to poor Canada, they where on their way. The uk was forcing convoy's accross even now, Australia and New Zealand were about to send help.............it looked better than it had for days

Alan was pulled from his reverie by a shocking roar and the imediate rumble of an explosion............oh God, oh God,oh God, they were here........He pressed his face and hands to the window.......across the city a giant tower of flame reached into the sky...........the Yanks had struck again.....a defencless city before them and all they could do is attack from the air............well it wasn't the New Commonwealth way.........you should be a man....face your foe, and make him die for what he believed in, or so Alan believed.



As he watched fasinated by the scene outside the powewr went out.........the city lay in darkness.......alone and afraid......at the mercy of the US bombardment.



Other coloums of flame reached towards the sky, from here Alan could see them. all he and his friends had worked for was gone............how many of those friends lay dead in the twisted wreckage out there........how many suffered ?.........he couldn't say, he didn't want to.............Alan stood rooted to the spot as Ottawa burnt around him.....................all he could do now was watch......................................

[Zeke]

Cripes!...and I thought Ottowa was pretty cool...oh well...

great story telling...very atmospheric. 

[ChernayaAkula]

  Bone-chilling stuff, but great to read! 

[lancer]

This is brilliant!! It should be made into a book and published!!

[sideshowbob9]

I think I'll cancel my trip to Canada......and maybe strike Rome off the list as well.......

[Kerrillc]

I agree, this is a great read. History, conventions and assumptions being turned on their heads, back to front and inside out into the bargain!

Regards

K

[thedarkmaster]

One Foot in the Grave

Ayalah Darwish pulled herself deeper into the Foxhole she shared with the one companion she could trust, the one constant for her during this nightmare, she huddled up to her Galil assault rifle and took comfort from it's touch.

For three days now she had been on the front line, trying to stay alive, trying to come home to her family, trying to stop the Soviets and Syrians. She had been called to service four days before, reporting to duty she had been assigned to a anti tank unit and despatched towards the front, she had found herself here at Almagor when the news that the front on the Golan had been ruptured and a Soviet Mechanised regiment was on it's way.

They had dug in and dug in and dug further, all they knew was that in front was the soviets and somewhere behind them moving up where some Brits or French or some sort. She knew just as everyone in the unit knew they were expected to die to buy time for this but.................well it wasn't fair,.........she was young, she was even pretty.................why her , why now ..............why why why why.             

Yesterday morning they had come...........slowly at first..........moving cautiously..............she was so scared, she didn't even move as the order to fire came...............all she could do was hide at the bottom of her foxhole as the air above her was ripped apart with noise and flame..........she lay their, tears streaming down her face too frightened to make a sound lest some Russian or worse one of her own heard her. she lay there for hours only answering the sergants hushed call to see if she was ok.



When she finally gathered the courage to look out of the foxhole she was shocked to the very core...........to the right of her lay three or more Soviet tanks, but almost on top of her was a steel monster, a thing so big it would of squashed her like a bug.



Since then.........well since then almost nothing...........no Russians, no Arabs and certainly no Brits............very little word had come from the Command, but they had heard the news.........how the world had gone mad..........how some of the great cities of Europe, America, Asia and the East had gone.............How the Navies of the opposing sides had fought and died in the med..............She had heard the rumours that Tactical weapons had been used on the Soviets up north, but no-one knew for sure.

She had been there when they had all seen the planes fly low over the hills behind them.............they had all seen the smoke rising, the roar of the explosions.......and they had heard the news from the Major............the Australians where not coming..........they had died behind the hill............She and her friends were on their own .

Ayalah was scared all the time now.........scared she wouldn't make it through..........scared she would die here in this hole..........scared more that it would hurt.......scared she would be alone..............................................alone at the end.

[thedarkmaster]

This is the start of my latest project for the  " Empires Twighlight "  it is a Beriev but I'm looking at it being an Armstrong Whitworth dirivertive.

It is largly made from fibreglass which is surprisingly brittle.











and of course it's been a hard day for my little princess and i so we needed a good rest   

[thedarkmaster]

latest update on the monster




It is BIG, much bigger than i thought it would be.



if it helps the monitor is a 15 inch screen.



oh yes and the Pink Princess is awake and happy now        

[thedarkmaster]

Hawker Siddley GNAT F/T 7

Following the New Commonwealth annual fighter compertitions of 1970 and 1971 wher the RAF came a credible LAST the Air Ministry and the RAF came to the decision that more and much more realistic training was the only answer.

The RAF imediatly contacted the Armee de la Air in France and arranged for the lease of Mirage iii for use in a training role, and whilst this was an acceptable stop gap ( though one that lasted over 15 years ) the RAF required an in service type, if only for the ease of supplies and maintainance.

The eye of the RAF was cast and it slowly settled upon the Gnat trainer. already in service and certified for acrobatics, just what was needed in a combat trainer. So wired up for Sindwindermissiles and re-configured for just the one crrew member the resultant fighter/trainer 7 entered sevice in 1975. Every RAF station was equipped with a flight of 4 by the end of 1982.

The aircraft illustrated is in service with 1163 flt at RAF Gutersloh in 1979 , it carries the scheme approved for all such flights in the former Germany ( each command approved it's own scheme ) and represented colours carried on Warsaw Pact forces at the time.

[pyro-manic]

Sleek little beast! Very nice as always, TDM, and that Beriev monster should be impressive when it's finished.